Is Sydney the capital of Australia, and if not, why not?

kerry8888

Sydney has never been the capital of Australia though Melbourne was until 1927. It seems Sydney was never really in the running, and who wants all those public servants running around here anyway. :) http://www.inaustralia.com.au/Info/history.htm May 14 03, 3:21 PM

Andy	Just for reference, the capital of Australia is Canberra. However, to kerry8888 and any other Aussies on the site, could you please help me with a related debate? Is Melbourne or Sydney the largest city in Australia? May 14 03, 11:23 PM

kerry8888

Sydney is the largest city in Oz with 4 million odd people. Melbourne's population is about 3.5 million. http://www.stellarsuites.com.au/attractions.htm May 15 03, 1:07 AM

yeukelduck

Sydney is not the capital city, even though, yes, it is the largest. The reason is because Melbourne was the financial centre of Australia, but Sydney was the largest city. There was some conflict because Sydney felt they should be the capital, so eventually, the government decided to give neither city the status of capital. So in 1927, when Canberra was completed (halfway between Sydney and Melbourne) it became the capital. This is also the reason as to why the Australian Capital Territory exists, so then it would be in neither New South Wales or Victoria. Apr 09 06, 3:47 AM